Hamas Health Ministry: More than 1,000 dead in Gaza

The Palestinian death toll in Israel's Gaza offensive topped 1,000 on Wednesday, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said, as Israel's offensive, targeting Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, continued into its 19th day.

The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human rights said more than 670 civilians were among the dead. Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians hit by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have been killed since Israel launched its campaign on Dec. 27.

Backing its demand that any ceasefire ensure that Hamas cannot rearm, Israel sent warplanes to drop missiles on smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.

"They used bombs that went deep into the tunnels and shook the whole Rafah refugee camp. The land trembled beneath our feet," said Bassam Abdallah, a local Palestinian cameraman. "We used to be afraid - but now we're getting used to it."

In Cairo, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon renewed his call for "an immediate and durable ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas, which on Wednesday fired at least 16 rockets into southern Israeli cities, causing no casualties.

Releasing new figures, the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said 1,010 Palestinians had been killed and 4,700 wounded by Israeli forces in 18 days of fighting.

UNICEF: More than 300 children killed in Gaza

The head of the UN children's agency UNICEF said Wednesday that more than 300 children have been killed and more than 1,500 have been wounded in Gaza.

Ann M. Veneman, executive director of UNICEF, added in a statement Wednesday that children and their families were trapped in relentless violence.

She said children were the majority of Gaza's population and were suffering in a conflict which is not theirs.

Veneman made her statement in South Africa, where she will release her agency's annual global report on the state of children Thursday